“The sponsorship program was the right thing to do.” That’s Warren Kinsella, in today’s Post. I agree, 100%. Pierre Trudeau was right, when he wrote in Federalism and the French Canadians, that Canada would never win a battle of symbols and myths for the hearts of Quebecers. But that was never a battle Canada had […] More »

To the Sala Rossa on Friday to see hard-copyright victim Dan “I used to be called Manitoba till some jackass who isn’t even Canadian sued me so now I have to call myself Caribou” Snaith. Russian Futurists opened. It was fantastic. Weird scene — the room was full of hipsters in seventies t-shirts and Herman’s […] More »

I got this today from the smart folks at the Educational Policy Institute. It was labelled urgent, so I figure it is worth blogging. According to their calculations, the proposed 10% cut to tuition will actually help low-need students, and harm high-need students. (I’m going to hold off on throwing in my own $0.02, which […] More »

To Club Soda last night to see Dizzee Rascal, the 20 year-old hip-hop hero from London. None of the sad chaviness of The Streets here; it’s more Tupac/Fiddy focused on the desolation of the East End. At least, that’s what the reviews say. I have to confess to feeling a bit out of it. The […] More »

It’s nice to see that there’s still room for making aviation history in this modern world. I am in awe, if not a little scared, of the newest Airbus which can carry as many as 840 passengers. Image the Globe and Mail: Bob Edme/AP While I’m scared to fly in such a big crowd, I […] More »

Witnesses at Mr. Harper’s speech today in Amherstburg, Ontario report smelling toast shortly before a loud flash of exquisite purple light. After that, Mr. Harper’s headless torso continued with the Conservative leader’s preset itinerary, and is expected to press forward with a headless non-confidence vote as soon as Parliament resumes. From the Globe story: “It […] More »

The Right Honourable Jack Layton, P.C., M.P., Prime Minister of Canada Prime Minister Layton has been an impassioned social advocate for more than 30 years. As the national voice for municipalities as president of the Federation of Canadian Municipalities, a city councilor or a student leader, Mr. Layton has brought energy and leadership to achieve […] More »

I hear that Toronto is all-abuzz over Hot Docs, the annual film fest running until May 1. I was actually expecting to be down for it this week, to help Capture Entertainment with their pitch to make a film version of The Rebel Sell. Capture put together a proposal for The Democracy Project, “an exciting […] More »

News this morning that the CBC is laying people off. That’s sort of like saying, “once again, spring has followed winter,” isn’t it? In other culture notes, the federal government’s proposed changes to the Copyright Act suggest that Canada’s educators will soon have a free hand in taking copyright material off the Internet for classroom […] More »

Pettigrew quitting politics: report The prime minister has lobbied Pettigrew not to take the job, saying people might think the foreign affairs minister is leaving because he is unhappy with the federal Liberals, according to other reports. Why would anybody think that? More »

Brian Iler is a long-time friend of This Magazine and it is no exaggeration to say that if not for the considerable time he has spent as a volunteer legal advisor to me and my colleagues, This Magazine might have gone under years ago. And so, we would like to offer our best wishes to […] More »